Between 1965 and 1972, almost 30
films set in the American West were filmed outside Fraga.
Heraldo
By Pablo Ferrer
2/5/2020
Diego Tejera in the ruins of the
fragile town of Cardiel,
headquarters of the exteriors of the western spaghetti | Laura Uranga
He lives in Miralsot, a district
of Fraga very close to the head
of the municipality, and works throughout the area surrounding the capital
of Bajo Cinca, but his mind has room
for a memory that has already turned half a century, a story of stories that It
happened in his childhood and then he has analyzed in detail. The director and
photographer Diego Tejera is the largest Aragonese authority in the world of
'spaghetti western' and one of the most experienced voices in Spain in
the analysis of that flow of films shot between Spain and Italy in the 1960s
and early 1970, more than 500 movies; almost 30 of them shot outdoors in
this area of Aragon, on stages scattered around Chalamera, Alcolea
de Cinca, Ballobar and,
above all, the town of Cardiel, 12 kilometers from Fraga in the direction of
Zaragoza, very close to the highway and the plot where the Monegros Desert electronic music
festival will take place again this summer, with a worldwide impact; a
creation, by the way, of the fragile saga of the Arnau.
Diego is a collector of films,
posters and abundant documentation about the period in which the studies of the
Balcázar brothers, allied with the director and screenwriter Ignacio F. Iquino,
made two dozen western movies between the town of Esplugues de Llobregat -
where the archetypal elements of these tapes were, such as the 'saloon', the
jail, the shop or the water trough - and the Cardinal fragatino, where other outdoor
scenes were filmed. The action was limited to the period between 1965 and
1972. “Eight
years ago we set up the traveling exhibition 'Fraga City,
city without law', focused on these films. There they talked about the
directors, filming and stars like the Aragonese Fernando Sancho or Dean Reed,
the Red Elvis, artist and activist; his own life he took
before for a movie was about to be made. He diedd in Berlin in 1986.”
Diego has agreed to visit the town
of Cardiel with
a bit of characterization; a vest, ammo belt, boots, two very successful
toy guns and a cowboy hat. “The houses of the town are private, but the town hall has set up a booth
and bathrooms for attendees on specific visits; there is
a party here during the year, and also Starlight activities; Given the
zero light pollution, it is a perfect place to see the stars. I think the
place could be an unquestionable tourist attraction with a little conditioning.”
New projects in Cardiel
Diego talks about a couple of
interesting projects at hand. “Paco Spain made a book about the town of
the Balcázar in Esplugues, and its collaborator Javier Ramos has just released
one on which the Community of Madrid once housed; This space has been
partially rehabilitated, naming old streets with movie titles, and the project
was presented a few days ago in Fitur, with the idea of setting up a tourism
project. Javier is now coming to Fraga to talk to me about a book about
the town of Cardiel and those films, and I would love to talk with the
institutions later to see if we can sketch an idea similar to that of Madrid in
Fraga.There are boys from
the area who want to make a short film here; Recently a documentary was
made on the subject, Catalan students who did it as a final project, spoke with
directors of that time in various parts of Spain and abroad”.
The Catalan documentary 'Goodbye Ringo', by Pere Marzo, echoed the 'Spaghetti
western' of the Balcázars and their Aragonese stages. Diego wants to
make a short film about it. “And using Super 8 makes me look forward to that vintage touch that gives
filming. I worked on TVE 16 mm, an experience. I
would also like to organize projections here, perhaps with a translucent tent
and images from the outside inside, to recreate a duel in the sun inside ... or
make cinema with pianist and plays of light and shadow: there are many
possibilities. There is an Almeria
company, Niño Leone, specialized in exhibitions and thematic activities, that
is interested in doing things here; They have asked me for
advice. There are many more fans of this cinema than I thought.”
The first is he, of
course; his son, who already works in the sector with his father, is not
lagging behind. At the moment it is Diego, gun replicas in the belt, who
stays alert while walking between the streets of Cardiel. Just in case.
Vivid memories in Fraga and the future that can be built
Cinema and music are two elements
of weight when feeding the cultural impulses in Fraga. In the case of the 'Spaghetti
western', the plans of the mentioned Balcázar brothers went beyond having
Cardiel as a secondary headquarters; They planned to bring
their full studio from Esplugues de Llobregat to the Monegros, although that
idea did not finally crystallize. The difficulties derived from his
incessant activity and the poor commercial result of many of those films
resulted in a unique curtain: the last film of the genre shot by the Balcázars, "Now They Call Him Sacramento" used
images of the burning and demolition of the town of Esplugues .
Of the films filmed in Fraga
highlighted 'Gunmen
of Arizona' (1965), 'A Pistol for Ringo' (1965) and 'The Return of Ringo'
(1966), in addition to 'Yankee', also from 1966, directed by the Italian Tinto
Brass The transalpine filmmaker has gone down in
the history of cinema as an erotoman: he also did 'Caligula', 'Cosi Fan Tutte'
or 'The Brothels of Paprika'. "There were names that were repeated,
such as Giuliano Gemma or director Duccio Tessari, but on other occasions the
actors changed their names and filmed several films in the same month,"
says Diego.
In addition to the Diego Tejera sample,
in 2012 the show 'Adiós Amigo', by Valencian photographer Sergio Belinchón,
produced by the Provincial Council
of Huesca, also stood out in Fraga. Now, Diego plans to recover
that exhibition, with added findings, and take it to new scenarios. In
addition, he
welcomes other good news; the possibility of Fraga's Florida cinema returning to activity. “It is owned by the Arnau family, it has
been an emblem of the city and now it seems that an agreement has been reached
with the City Council to return to the activity; It is in a perfect place,
it has a lot of tradition, a good capacity ... it will give a great
service to Fraga, which with 15,000 inhabitants must have a cinema; localities with 15 or 20 times
less population like Mequinenza or
Candasnos have them, and are a very beautiful addition. I have spoken with
the Candasnos Film Association,
to present my short film there if I can get it finished. That cinema has a
special charm, it reminds me a bit of the 'Cinema Paradiso', saving
distances. I identify a little - laughs - with the main character, Toto.
No comments:
Post a Comment